Early warning system prototype on torrential floods in mountainous areas based on the IoT

Abstract

Bosnia and Herzegovina is predominantly mountainous country with many settlements located near rivers. The characteristic terrain and seasonal occurrences of large amounts of water, due to rainfalls or snowmelt, make Bosnia and Herzegovina a country at a constant risk of flooding. Although the weather and hydrological situation in the territory of BiH is monitored by two hydrometeorological services, one from the Republika Srpska and the other from the Federation of BiH, automatic measuring stations have been set on the main watercourses, while remote monitoring of distant mountain areas subject to sudden emergence of torrential waters has not been established. A prototype of an IoT based torrential floods early warning system presented in this paper could solve this problem, being capable of monitoring watercourses in remote and inaccessible terrain. This system may be set to function autonomously, or as an integral part of an existing flood defense system. The basic unit of the system is an automatic measuring station (AMS) based on an Arduino controller with appropriate sensors, modules and power supply. Being small in size and affordable, easy to manufacture and setup, autonomous in operation and capable of wireless data transmission, makes AMS suitable for applications where use of standard metering stations is not possible. Number of AMSs in the system may vary and depend on the size of territory and water basin being monitored. Web server with custom developed Web application collects, processes, analyses and distributes data, while access level is set in correspondence with real-life authorization levels within the organizational structure of the flood defense system. Implementation of such system may provide monitoring of the situation in inaccessible areas in the basin, and assessment of time remaining until the flood wave reaches populated places. This will provide enhanced situation awareness and an additional window of opportunity for timely notification, reaction and protection of the local population and material goods.